5 best beach bistros in the Florida Keys

Behind this highly unlikely exterior in Marathon, Florida lies one of the state's best seafood-eating experiences.

Photograph by: Nancy Knowles
, for Canwest News Service

To claim to know the five best beachfront eateries in the Florida Keys betrays the typical arrogance of a travel writer. The Keys -- from Mile Marker 110 at the top all the way to Mile Marker 0 in Key West -- are a series of islands; makes sense that you'll find a full menu of bistros on the water. But -- arrogance at the ready -- here are five not to be missed:

1. Marker 88 Restaurant: This bistro on Islamorada offers gourmet dining, with seafood the speciality and tables on the sand. It's popular with higher-end guests, an occasional dining spot for the presidents Bush (Sr. and Jr.). The romantic setting is highlighted with live music on the beach.

2. Key Fisheries: In Marathon, it ain't much to look at -- but it's your other senses, taste and smell, that are important here. Superb seafood ordered at a rustic window beside a handwritten menu -- stone-crab soup, key-lime scallops, whisky-peppercorn snapper, about 60 items -- including their famous "Lobster Reuben." Tried the Reuben. Instant addiction.

3. The Morada Bay Beach Café: At Mile Marker 81.6, this is an exquisitely romantic setting. The menu is wide-ranging and inventive, including but not exclusively seafood (most entrées in the mid-$20 range). There's a lovely selection of tapas, superb service, and the setting -- on the sand, gazing over the bay ... well, if you're not in love during the appetizers, you will be by dessert.

4. Sunset Pier: You must have at least one meal -- or even just a drink -- in a waterfront eatery adjacent to Key West's Mallory Square. Our choice would be Ocean Key Resort's Sunset Pier (Zero Duval St.), on the boardwalk facing the iconic sunset. Surprisingly, the menu is not pricey, and the view at sundown -- when everything stops for a moment -- is unparalleled.

5. Little Palm Island (by boat from Little Torch Key, Mile Marker 28.5): High end? Heck, if you get to High End, you can just glimpse Little Palm Island. This is luxury at its finest, and the food (served in a restaurant, or on a deck with a 180-degree view of the ocean, or on the sandy beaches, and always on linen) is fabulous. You can stay over (at a grand and up per night), or arrive just for lunch or their famous Sunday brunch. Do.

-- Paul Knowles, a travel writer based in New Hamburg, Ont., is a sucker for seafood, seafront and sensational service.

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